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I am not stating that I have everything worked out when it comes to Instagram, but I thought I'd share tips that worked for me to grow my following (especially as so many people have asked). This is going to be super lengthy but hopefully informative so brace yourself.

Let’s sit on the above for a second and do some quick maths If the average (although it’s probably way higher) time spent on the app is one hour per day, and we do this everyday that’s:

1 x 7h= 7h per week x 52 weeks = 364 hours on Insta per year.

That means If you’ve been using the app for just less than three years, then congratulations! You’ve just earnt a three year degree in understanding how Instagram works.

Moral of the mathematical story is, I want to explain how EASY it is to detect Instagrammers who purchase/use bots to 'grow' their profile! If we can spot it then you definitely know big brands with big analytical software can spot it faster! Saying that, influencer marketing is still in it’s start up phase so some (sadly even big) brands haven't caught wind yet and do pay/sponsor profiles who's followings are totally not real! This is shocking, but sooner rather than later big brands will realise when ‘bot’ followed accounts genuinely have lower engagement and that ‘50k follower’ account won't look so sassy compared to their return on investment.

Social media, brand and influencer marketing managers if you stumble upon this post, please feel free to take note, lol.

How to detect fake likes/follower on Instagram Profiles

I'm sure that most people know these tips already - but I was talking to a friend about it, and surprisingly she had no idea, so this may help some people. The easiest way to detect fake followers would be to literally click on the followers of a person, scroll a bit, and see if you notice anything suspicious..

Fake follower symptoms:

Many profiles with no profile picture

Random letters for usernames that make no sense; for example ‘eyofdsbgfy' or something along them lines

Accounts full of stock images e.g from google

Accounts with no photos/one photo

Many accounts with either a high following or high followed number or both, E.g 6237 followers, 6123 followed

Many accounts from a certain demographic or country - a) If the instagrammer is from the UK then it's suspicious if they have thousands of Russian (фдчййкклл) or arabic followers *

* obviously there are REAL Arabic and Russian profiles, but firstly, does it make sense that these accounts are following these people? If the Instgrammer is for example a beauty blogger in the UK, why are random old russian and arabic men following them? Lol. Also it's not limited to just Russian and Arabic profiles, but they're the current examples I could find.

Fake likes symptoms

Spotting fake likes on pic is similar to spotting fake followers. If they uploaded within the hour:

Are the likes coming from any suspicious profiles? Are loads of the likes from a random demograph (like the arab and russian profiles I spoke about above?)

Are the suspicious profiles even following the Instagrammer? The algorithm usually won't show your profile on the explore page in a matter of seconds.

Do their likes surge out of proportion in a matter of seconds?

Of course, likes can come from hashtags and the explore page (which is great), but if you’re suspicious than they’re probs mostly from bots!

Also, I think lots of 'organic and real' profiles attract a minimal amount of bots and fake profiles, so if you see one or two on your page, I think that's just something that happens. A good tip though, is if a 'bot' follows you, block them! They aren't real, it will only lower your reach and dilute your engagement.

Free bot finding software

So let's go onto my fave site ever - Socialblade. This is the best thing lol. Again, I'm sure so many people know this! You can see when people are bulk purchasing followers by going on this site, and searching a profile. Let me use examples.

Here's an example of socialblade stats of someone who is buying bots. One day, they lose followers, but the next day they gain +522. Then, they lose around 1000.. and then purchase 1000 again. lol. Basically, the reason they lose so many is because Instagram are somewhat good at removing bots from accounts. Not always, and that's why people still manage to grow their accounts, but for example on this profile, Instagram deletes them, but the person just buys more. Vicious cycle.

Let's give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes too though! If they sometimes grow by 500 or 1000, they may have been reposted by a big account or have had REALLY good engagement on a pic, or for example held a giveaway! But if there's too much inconsistency, mad increases and losses - that's bot buying. I wouldn't base one search on socialblade as someone bot buying, check it for a few days/weeks and also check their followers and see if you can spot fakes!

Let me show you an account that is being consistent.

You could also consistently lose followers, it doesn't mean the profile is fake - the person may just be inactive/having a bad week lol.

Please also note - if you use social blade and look at the 13th Feb 2019, nearly EVERYONE lost Instagram followers from an 'Instagram glitch', but in the next few days Instagram gave them back; just a FYI.

You can also spot people who use follow/unfollow bots or 'technique' when they follow +250 people on a day, then remove 250 people in the next few days - also not a good thing to do these days. There's actual sites and apps to do it too, where people put their details in and then a computerised system will then follow people automatically. You can target to follow people of the same niches etc but again Instagram knows you're doing so now!

Why Buying Fake Likes & Followers Won't Work

I think this will be a pretty quick topic to address. Ages ago you could get away with doing stuff like using third party apps to automatically follow and then unfollow people. People could also get away with sending fake followers and likes to their profile and still seem 'popular' and be shown on the explore page etc. This is all inauthentic and Instagram knows ways to detect that now.

But now, sabotaging your own profile with fake likes and followers is the biggest mistake you can ever make. Instagram can EASILY tell and weed out who is buying their likes. Think about it, they have the algorithm watching your account, seeing who's growing +1000 every day with no hard work. What do you think they'll do with that info? They'll limit your reach babes. They won't show your uploads to organic people, won't post you on the explore page, and do everything in their power to limit your reach! That then turns into a vicious cycle, where you'll be constantly sending fake likes and followers to your account, therefore ruining your profile :(

Say for example you send likes to your most recent post, in the first hour. The algorithm will 100000% detect that and it'll flag your profile up, hence reducing your limited reach. Organic is key!

Instagram also put out a statement saying they're going to delete fake likes and followers from people's accounts at the end of 2018. What happened this week with the Instagram 'purge' was linked to this I reckon, but I don't think it worked the way Instagram wanted it to. For example, it said I lost 500 followers, but then my actual 'number' on my profile didn't take into account them 500 losses. I suspect there was an error in showing the correct following numbers when they did the purge. So my opinion is that they will do another purge soon, and that's just another reason to not even bother trying to get instant gratification and sending bots to your account! They're coming for you!

The 'Algorithm' and why you need 'modernise' the way you use Instagram

So let's start by me explaining what I mean by the term 'modernise'. Like I've already mentioned, a few years ago it was really easy to not get 'caught' with these tactics. Therefore, getting instant gratification, making your page look 'organic' and without Instagram itself cottoning on. You need to change the way you use instagram now, especially if you want to grow your profile. You can't simply just post and leave, and expect to grow. You really just can't, and that's because of the algorithm..

I really don't want to touch on the algorithm, because this is all Instagrammers talk about nowadays. But here are some things that will affect the way the algorithm treats you:

- Not being active

- Not regularly posting

- Inconsistent following trends. Randomly following hundreds of people, then unfollowing them!

- Not engaging with people

Now, this is just things that I've noticed that helped me with the algorithm, and I know it's probably SO much more complex than these few points, but I think I got the fundamentals pretty spot on!

Tips to Grow Your Instagram

Again, I'm just going to put a few tips that I found really help me grow on Instagram. I'm still a really really small account, in comparisons to others, but I think it's important to remember it's not always a numbers game, and it's definitely not a competition. I'm also not trying to claim that I've worked everything out, because I most definitely have not - just sharing some tips that helped me!

1) Do stuff your followers like. If you find an image of yours did better than your usual, DO MORE OF THAT STUFF. For example, my make up flat lays don't do as well as my outfit posts, so I of course post more outfit posts. When I visit places around London, mainly places that haven't been seen before, I'll get more saves, hence the picture does better!

2) Niches - basically, I don't actually agree with the term 'niche'. I just think, if you're on Instagram and want to grow a following, you need to know what you're growing for. If you're on instagram just for likes and follows and instant gratification, what's the point? Do you have a message to convey? Are you passionate about something i.e. makeup, travelling, fashion? Find something that no one has done before, and make it your own!

3) Follow people, but don't just follow people for follow backs. Use the app like the social media app that it is. Follow people you are GENUINELY interested in. Follow people who's feed you love, and those who have similar accounts to you. Don't expect a follow back, and also don't unfollow them once they follow you - that's probably the worst thing you can do. That's why it's important to follow people that genuinely interest you, so you can comment, engage on their pictures, get to know them etc without having to unfollow them. For example, if I come across someone's feed I love, I follow them, irrespective of if they have less or more followers than me! I don't expect a follow back, but it's great if they do as then I can engage, they can engage, and everyone's engaged. If I notice someone engaging with me a lot, I always check their feed out, and most likely always follow them back!

Here’s a tip - spend 10 minutes a day trying to find 10 profiles you genuinely like, irrespective of if they are a big or small profile.

4) Engage - this seems like such simple stuff, but it is very very important. If you're not gonna show love to people by commenting on their stuff, saving their stuff, liking their stuff, you're not gonna get much back loves!

5) Don't worry about numbers - Honestly, don't. If you want brands to work with you, they'll work with you usually irrespective of the amount of follows you have (not all, but some will, which will get you the experience to go places!). They'll see your work, especially if it's some good good work, and they'll WANT to work with you. Go at your own pace, don't think you need to reach a certain level to get 'sponsored' and 'paid'. Along with that, don't make sponsored and paid work your end goal. Your instagram page should ALWAYS start off as a hobby and something you're passionate about - not just a career. Please, don't wake up one day, quit your day job/university and think you can start a career on Instagram - you'll set yourself up for failure that way. Put in the work, and watch your page literally grow. You're also never going to wake up one day with 100,000 followers.

6) Focus on your content- I did just touch on this but instead of focusing on your follower number, focus on your content. Make sure your content is what you want it to be. Let's take a make up blog for example, create that content. Take swatches and flat lays, write reviews of products, do make up related content, take GOOD content and people will find you!

7) Engage with the brand you're posting and writing about. Ok so this is my biggest irk. So, let's say for example someone posts an outfit from Fashionova. Tags Fashionova, wants to be reposted, but doesn't follow the page?! I'm sure brands see that. I know some brands have openly explained that if you're not gonna even follow the page, you're not gonna get reposted/a like from the brand! These are small changes you can make that may open up wider doors for you!

Further, if you want a brand to work with you, the best thing to do is to show them you already love the brand. Create content for them before approaching them, for example I was posting Charlotte Tilbury related content since 2014 and 4 years later the brand contacted me. It took me 4 years, and I'm still not even remotely a large account, but I guess they notice hard work!

9) Use Instagram the way it wants to be used. If they introduce a new feature, you'll get more reach. For example, start creating content on IG TV, use polls, use instagram stories, follow hashtags etc. I'm sure it all helps!

10) Don't put your eggs in one basket - pls. Instagram could make any change which can affect anything. Take your content to a blog, to YouTube etc and it'll probably be the best decision you make!

11) Followers. And. Growth. Isn't. Everything. (Bit of a silly message to convey when you read the title, I know)

Ok so I know that was SUPER lengthy but I hope it helped. I'd love if you could share this with your friends, especially so we can make sure we are supporting organic profiles and I'll love to know if this has helped you at all?! Leave me a comment, or a DM over on insta, and if you have any questions feel free to get in touch!

P.S. I'd love to do one on how to contact brands and how to monetize your blog etc, but I'll only do that on request so please let me know otherwise it's never happening!

17 February 2019

HELLO! I am such a HUGE fan of the Hourglass Seamless Foundation Stick, that when this came out I HAD to purchase it. I have a LOT of thoughts about this foundation, so let me just let you all know ha.

I've linked this foundation here, through the Space NK site (affiliate link)! Now let's start off by saying this foundation is MAD PRICEY. £51 for a damn foundation, it best be everything I need and more. But once the review is finished, I think you'll see why I actually think this foundation is pretty good value for money.

A bit more about the foundation - it's available in 32 shades - all ranging from fair to quite dark. Supposedly, they are the same shades in the Hourglass Vanish stick foundation, but when I asked the man at the counter, he said some shades vary slightly! If I'm honest, I've never found the right shade in stick form, but I really do love that foundation, I would just tend to make do with the shade I had. The man at the counter offered to help me shade match, and I must have had short term memory loss because as soon as I got home I remembered why I NEVER let anyone shade match me. I walked out with the shade Sand upon recommendations from 'man at counter' and urgh. It's TOO YELLOW. I wish that I had the guts to go back and ask for a different shade, but I don't. So I'm just going to make this one work for me ha. Nobody knows my skin except me, remember that in the future Mehshake.

So the foundation's biggest claim is that you do not need a primer with it. Further, it claims to be full coverage, diffused coverage where you can start with light coverage and build it up, luminous finish, and that you only need half a pump!

Let's go through these claims shall we?

No Primer - So I've tried it without primer, and I've tried it with primer. There's no difference. Hence, yes it works with no primer. It lasted the same amount of hours with primer than without, and also gave the same type of finish. Honestly, impressive stuff.

Full coverage - YES. Oh my god, I love a good full coverage foundation - especially since I am suffering with ridiculous hyperpigmentation and acne these days :( You can really build this up, which brings me onto the next claim - diffused coverage.

Diffused coverage - so the first day I wore this, I went in with a full damn pump. I put a whole pump on my face, and absolutely HATED it. First, I didn't like the colour. Second, I didn't like the finish. I was really upset - more because of the shade I had picked up. I gave it another go of course (as I spent a fortune) and started with the smallest amount on my brush. I realised that the smallest amount goes a REAL long way. With literally a touch of foundation, I could do about 1/4 of my face. The best way to use this foundation is by building it up where you need to. Start off with a really really light hand and dab it in (my preferred way is always with a brush), then - build up where you need to. For example, where I have more pigmentation, I used more foundation, instead of all over my face - and I got THE BEST finish.

Luminous finish - yeah I guess so! I tend to mattify my foundations with powders, as I'm pretty oily - but this did look pretty luminous!

Half a pump? I guess so. If I'm honest I probably used more to 3/4 of a pump! But that's because I have pigmentation I needed to cover. I ended up chucking 1/4 of a pump away each time I've used it which makes me sad as it's so expensive, but will next time remember to dispense less out of the bottle! I also think when my pigmentation gets better, I'll need less foundation.

This brings me onto my first point - I pretty much believe this foundation is very good value for money! If I'm only using 1/2 to 3/4 of a pump, this foundation is gonna last me a LONG time. One thing that is pretty sad is that it has less than the normal 1 fl. oz in it - but hey, only just.

I'm not one to base things on the aesthetic of things (who am I kidding - yes I am), but I am absolutely LOVIIIIING the packaging on this bottle. It's made out of glass, and it's a sort of triangular bottle - much like the vanish foundation stick, which was a super pleasant surprise as it's pretty unique. The glass bottle makes feel really luxurious and WORTH the money!

If I have the Hourglass foundation stick, do I need this? So here, I'm going to touch on the differences of the stick to the liquid foundation. My overall answer to this question is yes, yes you do. First of all, make sure you check the shade in the liquid form is still a good match for you compared to the stick form. I'd just double check it's still right for you - most likely it will be, but I'm just passing on the message from 'man at counter'.
The main difference that I found is that I wear the Vanish Foundation Stick on a daily basis. I wear it to work, and for a natural coverage. I love it for that. The liquid foundation is just an upgrade to that formula, and I'd wear for more 'glam' days. More evening/when I'm photoshooting for Insta kinda days. I think that's a major key to when you're choosing this foundation, and something you should really consider.
Day time: Stick.
Evening glam: Liquid

Got it?

I shall now leave with you a few looks I created with the foundation!

Both of these pictures have absolutely no filters on them, so you can see the foundation in its true form. What do you think of the shade I got? I really do think it runs too warm - but I've had mixed opinions on it!

I know this was super lengthy, but I hope it was informative! Thanks for reading loves! x

Because I have so many palettes, I get really excited when I see different formula's in a palette - and this one doesn't disappoint.

Glitters - I'm quite used to glitter pigments, I use them quite a lot. One I can compare this to is the glitter pigments in the Huda Beauty palettes. This glitter pigment is SO good. I only had problems with two shades, the Diamond Glitterati and Diamond Life - they didn't stick as well as the other two glitters, which probably don't even need a glitter glue! I would still use a glitter glue, but honestly it isn't even needed. The gold glitter 'Fluent in Diamonds' is the best glitter formula I have ever used - it swatches AMAZINGLY.

Shimmers - also very good! The bottom row shimmers are very very pigmented, and some are less pigmented, but I think that was the idea - to have an array of formulas. For example, Crushed Your Pearls has a white base but finely milled pink glitter - I really appreciate that!

One thing I don't like about this palette is how bulky the packaging is! For a girl with a lot of palettes, it's sad! Nonetheless, I really do love this palette & although it looks like you can dupe the shades many times over - I don't think you can! It's so nice to see Too Faced do something pretty different in terms of their formula too!

10/10 recommend.

13 February 2019

I absolutely love trying smaller, independent brands. When Flawless Beauty by Loreta offered me to try their products, I could not refuse! I'm here to share my opinions on the products I've found through this brand! Although all the items I talk about in this post are gifted, all views are 100% my own!

About the BrandFlawless Beauty by Loreta was established in 2013, and I believe started off with just lashes. On the site now, there's an array of products, from lashes to brows and even accessories like cleansers!

Here are the items that were gifted to me! The packaging is so pretty and really good quality!

Eyelashes

I received four different lash styles, all very different from each other!
The most dramatic lashes being styles the MX041, DM009 and 502 lashes!
The more everyday style lashes are the style DX019 and these are my absolute FAVE as this is the sort of style I wear on a daily basis! I am OBSESSED with them, they're so lightweight and easy to wear! They're also super easy to apply, and come with a really good adhesive!

Eyeliner

I've been trying the black and brown shades of the Flawless Eyeliner for about a week now - and I'm pretty impressed. The black eyeliner is a super reliable, long lasting eyeliner which creates a really nice wing!
But a surprise for me was how much I've been reaching for the brown eyeliner! I never thought I'd wear brown liner much, at least I've never really tried! I just realised that this brown liner gives a softer look than black liner does, which makes a HUGE difference if you're trying to create a 'softer glam look', for example Valentine's day!

Lash Serum

Tell me a brand you know of that wants to look after your natural lashes as well as providing false lashes? I know of none other than this brand!!
We all know that false lashes/eyelash extensions can leave your natural lashes quite sparse and thin. I remember, before wearing falsies, my lashes were a lot longer - when I started incorporating falsies into my looks, I'd notice more lashes falling out by the day!

This lash serum retails at £29.89. I've been using it for a week and it really does work. I feel like my lashes have got thicker, and also have not fallen out as much! I find the best way to apply this is my brushing it on your lashes, as well as on the base of your lashes!

Duo Brows

So the Duo Brows has a blonde end and a brown end - I've only (for obvious reasons) used the brown end, and I must say I've never used a brow product with this kind of sponge tip. When I first saw this, I didn't really know how to use it - but I was easily able to work it out! It gives a really natural yet defined look to your brows!

Let me know if you have any other questions about these products! I thought I'd give you all a small review about the products I've been trying! I hope that helped! <3

12 February 2019

So, I'm super super in love with this purple palette as it's SO on trend right now. The formula is super impressive and I'm pretty sure that Colourpop have improved their formula in the last few palettes they have released!

This palette is $12, and comes with a mirror - it's in plastic packaging - not in cardboard - so it feels like really good quality for $12!

Here are the swatches! 4 shades in this palette actually come as single pans you can buy from the site. These are; Pretty Cruel, Earthshine, Mr Sandman & Sleeper! I did not own any of these shades before so that was good!

One comparison I noticed though was the Huda Beauty Amethyst Palette to this!

As you can see, they are VERY similar! The Huda palette is double the price at £25, whilst the Colourpop palette is $12! It is basically pretty annoying that I have an exact dupe to the Huda one, but the Colourpop is still a really good quality palette! I'd recommend both, lol!

Overall, I really like the vibe of this palette, and highly recommend it!

2 February 2019

Hi! I've been a huge fan of PANDORA accessories for so many years now, and PANDORA have kindly gifted me their BEAUTIFUL Valentine's gift set. I thought I'd take this opportunity to link some of my fave bits from PANDORA, along with their new Valentine's collection! This is a gifted AD!

PANDORA kindly sent over this beautiful gift set, which is currently on sale from £100 to £85! I've linked it here.

This would make a PERFECT present for your partner, or if you just wanted to treat yourself. I love that it can be worn all year round.